Maximum city back to normal

Source :

Last Updated: Mon, Nov 19, 2012 10:30 hrs

Mumbai, Nov 19 (IANS) A day after Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray was cremated, Mumbai slowly returned to normalcy − office−goers facing Monday morning blues and rushing to work places at their daily pace.

Most corporate offices and businesses were back to their routine, but certain establishments observed a voluntary shutdown as a mark of respect for the 86−year−old Sena patriarch who breathed his last Saturday afternoon.

Most traders and trade unions under the aegis of the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM), observed 'Shradhanjali Diwas' (a day of homage) in Thackeray's honour.

The retail and wholesale jewellery market − the famed Zaveri Bazar − and all other jewellery units in the western megapolis also remained shut Monday.

"The state of Maharashtra and the trading community lost a true friend and well−wisher. Balasaheb was a great son of the soil and a true nationalist who minced no words to express his views. He deserves a Shradhanjali (homage)," FAM president Mohan Gurnani said.

While smaller establishments and retailers across Maharashtra opened their shops late in the morning, wholesalers and bulk dealers remained closed.

Even though small grocery stores opened in most parts of the state, many complained of lack of supplies of daily essential food items, including bread, butter and milk.

Schools that were to reopen Monday after the Diwali break also decided to put off reopening by a day, owing to the shutdown call given by various bus owners' associations whose vehicles ferry children to school.

Most colleges across the state remained closed in memory of the leader.

However, most taxis and autorickshaws were back on the roads Monday. City buses and local trains also operated according to their normal schedule.

The Shiv Sena denied having called for a shutdown.

"The shutdown call is purely voluntary. We have not called for any shutdown," party spokesperson Anil Parab said Sunday.